The present invention relates to a push and rotary operating type electronic component employed mainly in a computer peripheral such as a mouse and the like, a communication terminal apparatus such as a cellular phone and the like, a vehicle-mounted electric device, and so on. In particular, the invention relates to a push and rotary operating type electronic component that allows for rotary manipulation of a peripheral surface of a cylindrical operating knob projecting from a control surface of the apparatus in a tangential direction, and also for push manipulation in a direction toward a central axis of rotation of the knob.
A rotary encoder equipped with a push switch (hereinafter referred to simply as xe2x80x9cREPSxe2x80x9d), such as one shown in a general perspective view of FIG. 15, has been hitherto known, as this kind of push and rotary operating type electronic component is prior art.
FIG. 16 is a cross-sectional side view of the REPS. With reference to FIG. 15 and FIG. 16, the REPS of the prior art will be described hereinafter.
The REPS of the prior art comprises a mounting substrate 1 having contact points, a rotary encoder 2 disposed on one side of the mounting substrate 1 having contact points, as a rotary operation part, and a push switch 3 disposed on the other side of the mounting substrate 1 having contact points, as a push operation part.
The rotary encoder 2 is held on the mounting substrate 1 in a manner such that it is movable within a certain range in a vertical direction (the direction shown by arrows V in FIG. 15 and FIG. 16). Further, the push switch 3 is fixed to the mounting substrate 1 so as not to move.
As shown in a general perspective view of FIG. 17, the mounting substrate 1 having contact points is provided with a recess 5 formed in a plate-like plastic body having guide rails 4 for the rotary encoder 2 to move along, another recess 6 for fixing the push switch 3, three terminals 7 connected to their respective contact plates 8 for leading an electric signal of the rotary encoder 2 to an outside, and a support leg 1A positioned on a mount surface 1B at a lower end for installation of the REPS on a wiring board of an apparatus.
As shown in the cross-sectional side view of FIG. 16, the rotary encoder 2 comprises a sliding contact body 9 made of plastic, inserted in the recess 5 of the mounting substrate 1 with contact points, three flexible contact bars 10 secured to the sliding contact body 9 by insertion molding, a cylindrical axle 15 mounted on the sliding contact body 9, a discoidal operating knob 12 mounted on the cylindrical axle 15 in a rotatable manner, a rotary body 14 made of plastic mounted on an inner surface of the discoidal operating knob 12, and a radially-oriented movable contact 13 secured to the rotary body 14.
The sliding contact body 9 is fitted in the recess 5 and retained with the guide rails 4 in a manner that it is movable within a certain range in a vertical direction (the direction shown by the arrow V).
FIG. 19 is a plan view depicting one aspect of the three flexible contact bars 10 in contact with the radially-oriented movable contact 13. As shown in FIG. 19, the three flexible contact bars 10 consisting of a common flexible contact bar and two signaling flexible contact bars, all fixed to the sliding contact body 9, are in resilient contact with an annular contact portion 13A and a radial contact portion 13B of the radially-oriented movable contact 13. In other words, the three flexible contact bars 10 are so arranged as to be in contact with the radially-oriented movable contact 13 secured to the rotary body 14, which is rotatable about the cylindrical axle 15. Hence, the three flexible contact bars 10 slide on the annular contact portion 13A and the radial contact portion 13B, while maintaining resilient contacts therewith, when the operating knob 12 is rotated. The above operation causes the rotary encoder 2 to generate an electric signal.
Furthermore, three flexible contacts 11 in electrical continuity with their respective flexible contact bars 10 are so arranged such that they maintain contact with the three contact plates 8 positioned on the mounting substrate 1. Therefore, the electric signal generated in the rotary encoder 2 is led to the terminals 7 through the flexible contacts 11 and the contact plates 8.
In addition, a leaf spring 16, mounted on a lower end portion of the sliding contact body 9, stays in resilient contact with projecting studs 17 (refer to FIG. 17) of the mounting substrate 1. In this structure, the leaf spring 16 provides a biasing force to keep the rotary encoder 2 in a position away from the push switch 3 in a normal state.
The push switch 3 is fitted and secured in the recess 6 (shown in FIG. 17) in an opposite surface of the mounting substrate 1 with respect to the rotary encoder 2. The push switch 3 is arranged so that an actuating button 18 thereof is in contact with a pushing portion 15A of the cylindrical axle 15 of the rotary encoder 2, as shown in FIG. 16. Terminals 19 to deliver an electric signal of the push switch 3 to an outside project downward.
The REPS of the prior art is constructed as described above. FIG. 18 is a partially sectioned side view depicting an example in which this REPS is mounted in an enduse apparatus. The mounting substrate 1 having contact points is mounted on a wiring board 20 with the support leg 1A, as shown in FIG. 18, so as to keep the mount surface 1B at a bottom end thereof in close contact with a surface of the wiring board 20. In addition, the terminals 7 of the rotary encoder 2 and the terminals 19 of the push switch 3 are inserted into mounting holes 21 and 22 in the wiring board 20 of the apparatus, and soldered. Also, the REPS is mounted in the apparatus in a manner that a peripheral rim 12A, serving as an operating portion of the discoidal operating knob 12, protrudes from a control surface 23 on an upper enclosure of the apparatus.
The REPS of the prior art constructed as discussed above operates in a manner, which will be described hereinafter.
First, the rotary encoder 2 will be described. An operator rotates the discoidal operating knob 12 by applying a force on the peripheral rim 12A of the operating knob 12 in the tangential direction (the direction of an arrow H shown in FIG. 15). This rotary motion causes the rotary body 14 to rotate about the axle 15. Accordingly, the three flexible contact bars 10 slide on the annular contact portion 13A and the radial contact portion 13B of the radially-oriented movable contact 13 secured to the rotary body 14, while maintaining resilient contact therewith. As a result, the rotary encoder 2 generates an electric signal corresponding to a direction of the rotation of the operating knob 12, so as to function as a rotary type encoder. This electric signal is transferred to the contact plates 8 on the mounting substrate 1 from the flexible contact bars 10 via the three flexible contacts 11. The electric signal is further transferred to a circuit on the wiring board 20 of the apparatus through the terminals 7 for external connections.
The push switch 3 will be described next. The operator applies a depressing force on the peripheral rim 12A of the discoidal operating knob 12 in a direction toward the central axis of rotation (the direction of arrows V1 shown in FIG. 16 and FIG. 18) against the biasing force of the leaf spring 16, which provides the force to push the rotary encoder 2 upward. The depressing force shifts the entire rotary encoder 2 in the direction of the arrow V1 along the guide rails 4 of the mounting substrate 1 having contact points. This movement causes the pushing portion 15A of the cylindrical axle 15 to depress the actuating button 18. The depressed motion of the actuating button 18 actuates the push switch 3 to thereby generate an electric signal. The electric signal is delivered through the terminals 19 to the circuit on the wiring board 20 in the apparatus. When the depressing force applied on the operating knob 12 is removed thereafter, the rotary encoder 2 is pushed back and returns to its original position by a resilient restoring force of the leaf spring 16. What has been described above is how the REPS of the prior art operates.
However, the REPS of the prior art has a large diameter, since the radially-oriented movable contact 13 in the REPS has the radial contact portion 13B arranged radially around the annular contact portion 13A. Therefore, an outer diameter of the rotary body 14 is also large.
Consequently, the discoidal operating knob 12 to operate the rotary body 14 needs to be made even larger in size. Moreover, the mounting substrate 1 having contact points must be kept from protruding beyond the control surface 23, as shown in FIG. 18, when mounting the REPS on the end-use apparatus. Furthermore, a clearance is required between the wiring board 20 and the peripheral rim of the operating knob 12 so that the operating knob 12 is rotatable. A wide space is needed between the control surface 23 and the wiring board 20 in the apparatus for this reason. Accordingly, there has been a problem that an enclosure of the apparatus equipped with the REPS of the prior art becomes bulky in height.
In the REPS, the rotary encoder 2 is mounted in a vertically movable manner at one side of the mounting substrate 1 having contact points. The push switch 3 is positioned on the other side. This structure has given rise to another problem in that depressing manipulation of the operating knob 12 yields a twisting force against the guide rails 4 of the mounting substrate 1, thereby causing an unstable feeling when manipulated. In addition, the REPS of the prior art is provided with the flexible contacts 11 and the contact plates 8 to deliver the electric signal produced by the rotary encoder 2. Therefore, another problem with the REPS of the prior art has been that it is difficult to assemble and costly, due to the large number of resilient contact members and sliding contact points.
The present invention is intended to obviate the foregoing problems of the past by realizing a reduction in diameter of a rotary operation part and a discoidal operating knob, and thereby reducing a height size of an enclosure of an end-use apparatus. In addition, this invention aims at providing a push and rotary operating type electronic component that is smooth in depressing manipulation, small in a number of structural components, easy to assemble, and less expensive.
To achieve the above purpose, the push and the rotary operating type electronic component of this invention comprises a rotary operation part, and a self-restoring type push switch.
The above rotary operation part comprises a substrate made of an insulation material, a quadrangular frame provided with an axial pin on one side, and supported rotatably by a frame support formed on the substrate, a cylindrical rotary body with a stepped periphery, comprising a cylindrical axle of small diameter having a movable contact on a peripheral surface thereof and a large diameter portion serving-as a knob portion, the rotary body retained rotatably in the quadrangular frame and a flexible contact bar retained by the substrate in a manner to keep resilient contact with the movable contact provided on the peripheral surface of the cylindrical axle of small diameter of the rotary body.
The self-restoring type push switch is disposed on the substrate, and it is actuated when depressed by a turning movement of the quadrangular frame.
The foregoing structure can thus attain a reduction in diameter of the operating knob and a height size of an enclosure of the end-use apparatus, and realize a push and rotary operating type electronic component that is smooth in depressing manipulation, small in number of the structural components, easy to assemble, and less expensive.
The quadrangular frame is so composed such that a projection located near an end portion of another side opposite the side where the axial pin is provided, engages in a restraining hole in the substrate. This structure can restrict a turning angle of the quadrangular frame.
The rotary body comprises a cylindrical knob portion of a large diameter, formed of plastic resin having a center hole, and a cylindrical axle of a small diameter provided with a movable contact on a peripheral surface thereof.
The cylindrical axle is inserted into the center hole of the knob portion, and connected with it. With this structure, the rotary body consisting of the knob portion of large diameter, of which the peripheral surface is subject to manipulation, and the cylindrical axle of small diameter having the movable contact on its peripheral surface can be formed highly precisely and less expensively. In addition, this structure is easily adaptable for alterations in diameter, shape and color of the knob portion, a change in the movable contact for a variation of electric signals, and so on.
The cylindrical axle of the rotary body is retained rotatably at both sides near ends of the knob portion by two opposite sides of the quadrangular frame. Furthermore, the movable contact of the cylindrical axle is positioned at an exterior side of the two sides of the quadrangular frame that holds the cylindrical axle rotatably. The movable contact, flexible contact bars in contact resiliently therewith, and their vicinities are enclosed with a cover. In other words, the contact members are separated by the quadrangular frame from the knob portion manipulated by a hand of an operator, and enclosed with the cover. This structure maintains the contact members free from dust, and improves reliability.